Animal feed blocks and methods and systems for their production

ABSTRACT

Low moisture feed blocks deliver supplemental nutrients to animals and are free or substantially free of molasses by using concentrated separator by-product as a molasses replacement. A premixture of concentrated separator by-product and added sugar may be pH-adjusted and concentrated to a high solids content. The premixture may be combined with dry components to form an admixture that is poured into a vessel and allowed to naturally cool and harden into the supplemental feed block.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to animal feed supplements and methodsand systems for their production, and more particularly, relates toanimal feed blocks containing concentrated separator by-product as amolasses-replacement and methods and systems for their production.

BACKGROUND

Supplemental animal feedstuffs fortified with nutritive supplements havebeen developed in block form to permit free choice feeding and reducethe labor required for mixing the nutritive supplement with the animals'feed ration. Such nutritive supplement blocks may be of three types:poured blocks, low moisture blocks or pressed blocks.

Poured blocks require a curing agent for hardening, which may includemagnesium oxide or another component that reacts in the presence ofmoisture. Upon pouring a liquefied nutrient supplement into a vessel,the mixture non-reversibly cures over a period of time, typically 24hours. Skoch et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,385 describe molasses-basedfeed blocks wherein magnesium oxide is employed as an ingredient to forma pourable heated composition that self-hardens after cooling into asolid, weather resistant feed block suitable for ruminant consumption.Such feed blocks have the advantage of ease of manufacture, sincepourability is provided and hardening of the block occurs without theneed to evaporate water, leading to lower manufacturing costs and lowerenergy consumption in the finished product compared to blocks wherewater evaporation is necessary.

Pressed blocks are typically formed by heating and adding steam to dryfeed under high pressure conditions. The pressure exerted on thesupplemental animal feedstuffs and binders such as lignin areresponsible for binding the feed components together and enables theblock to retain its shape.

Low moisture blocks require dehydration or moisture removal forhardening. This type of block is also referred to as a cooked tubbecause the nutritive supplement mixture is “cooked” and upon pouringinto a vessel, e.g., a tub, the contents are allowed to cool and hardeninto a block. Such blocks contain molasses as a primary component at alevel of 40 wt % or higher.

SUMMARY

Implementations provide low moisture animal feed supplements and methodsof making low moisture animal feed supplements in block form, whichcontain concentrated separator by-product as a molasses-replacement.

Some implementations provide methods of making a low moisture feedsupplement block, which is free of molasses. Methods may involve forminga premixture of concentrated separator by-product and added sugar;adjusting a pH of the premixture from about 7.0 to about 11.0;concentrating the premixture to a solids content of at least 90 percentby weight; forming an admixture by combining the concentrated premixturewith dry components; pouring the admixture into a vessel; and allowingthe poured admixture to cool to ambient temperatures thereby hardeninginto a feed block. In certain implementations, the combination ofconcentrated separated by-product and added sugar serves as amolasses-replacement and the feed block is free of molasses.

In additional or alternative implementations, a method of making a lowmoisture feed supplement block may involve the preceding steps offorming the premixture, pH-adjustment, concentration to a high solidscontent, forming an admixture by combining the concentrated premixturewith dry components, pouring the admixture; and allowing the pouredadmixture to cool to ambient temperatures thereby hardening into a feedblock, and in such variations and alternatives, the concentratedseparator by-product in the feed block accounts for more of the feedblock than any other component.

In further implementations and alternatives, the added sugar may includea non-reducing sugar. In this instance, the step of cooling the mixturemay be to a temperature of 185° F. prior to pouring into the vessel. Forinstance, the non-reducing sugar may include sucrose.

In further implementations and alternatives, the added sugar may includea reducing sugar. In this instance, the step of cooling the mixture maybe to a temperature of 155° F. prior to pouring into the vessel. Forinstance, the reducing sugar may include one or more of fructose,glucose or lactose.

In further implementations and alternatives, the step of concentratingthe premixture involves heating the premixture to a temperature of about230° F. to about 245° F. For instance, the premixture may be heatedunder vacuum conditions to reach the desired temperature.

According to another implementation, a feed block free of molassesincludes condensed separator by-product as a primary component and atleast one sugar selected from sucrose, fructose, galactose or lactose,where the at least one sugar accounts for about 5 to 30 wt % of thetotal weight of the feed block.

In addition or alternatively in the methods of making the feed block orin the feed block itself; the concentrated separator by-product accountsfor more of the feed block than any other component; the concentratedseparator by-product is present in the feed block at about 45 to about60 wt %; the feed block contains about 5 to 30 wt % added sugar; and/orthe feed block is free of curing agents.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Animal feed supplement blocks containing concentrated separatorby-product as a molasses-replacement are provided herein. These blocksmay be provided to animals in free choice settings to supplement theanimal's diet with nutrients including protein, fat, vitamins andminerals.

In prior approaches, nearly all feed supplement blocks weremolasses-based and contained cane or beet molasses. Cane molasses is aby-product of processing sugar cane and is commonly used in feedsupplement blocks due to its stability over prolonged storage periodsand because its viscosity drops significantly with the addition of urea.In addition, animals find cane molasses palatable but tend to notover-consume blocks made from this type of molasses. Beet molasses issimilar to cane molasses except that it results from the processing ofsugar beets to yield granulated sugar. It is typically lower inviscosity than cane molasses but slightly higher in sugar content.Similar to cane molasses, animals readily accept blocks made from beetmolasses.

Cane and beet molasses contain at least 60 weight percent (wt %) sugaron a dry matter basis. This high sugar content makes molasses palatableto the animals and therefore particularly attractive for incorporationinto feed blocks. In addition, molasses contains at least 75 percent oftotal digestible nutrients, on a dry matter basis. Feed blocks producedfrom molasses therefore are palatable without the need to includeadditional sugar and include high levels of digestible nutrientsresulting in animals benefiting by ingestion of the feed blocks.

Molasses-based feed blocks typically contain a mixture of nutrients suchas protein, fat, vitamins and minerals from a variety of sources. Insome instances, these nutrients are sourced from concentrated separatorby-product, which is a by-product resulting from the refinement of beetmolasses. Concentrated separator by-product and beet molasses differfrom one another in that a portion of the sugars from beet molasses areremoved in the production of the concentrated separator by-product.Compared to beet molasses, such processing results in the concentratedseparator by-product containing sugar at relatively lower levels, e.g.,less than 45 wt %, e.g., about 43 wt %, on a dry matter basis andrelatively lower levels of total digestible nutrients of about 65 wt %,on a dry matter basis. Due to these lower levels of sugar and totaldigestible nutrients, concentrated separator by-product has beenincluded in the feed blocks only at relatively low levels in order toavoid problems with palatability and to avoid delivering supplementswith low nutritional value, as being contrary to the purpose of offeringthe animal free choice nutrients to supplement the animal's diet. Inaddition, concentrated separator by-product has been used to increasethe pH of some blocks, and high inclusion rates has been contraindicateddue to the risk of making the alkalinity of the blocks too high.

It has been discovered that concentrated separator by-product, however,is usable as a direct replacement for molasses in animal feed blocks.Accordingly, feed supplement blocks of the present disclosure containconcentrated separator by-product as a primary component and are free ofor substantially free of molasses. By free of molasses, it is meant thatthe feed blocks contain no molasses. By substantially free of molasses,it is meant that the blocks contain less than 2 wt % molasses on a drymatter basis. In some implementations and alternatives, the feedsupplement blocks may include the concentrated separator by-product as apartial replacement for molasses. For instance, the concentratedseparator by-product may serve as the primary component, while molassesmay be present at a level up to about 30 percent.

Feed Supplement Block Composition

The feed supplement blocks of the present disclosure may includeconcentrated separator by-product as a primary component. By primarycomponent, it is meant that the concentrated separator by-productaccounts for more of the feed block than any other component.Concentrated separator by-product may account for about 45 to 60 wt %,about 45 to 50 wt %, about 50 to 60 wt %, or about 55 to 60 wt % of thefeed block on a dry matter basis. The concentrated separator by-productmay contain about 16 to 20 wt % crude protein, less than 1 wt % fat,about 70 to 78 wt % organic matter, about 60 to 70 wt % total digestiblenutrients, and about 40 to 45 wt % sugars on a dry matter basis.

The feed supplement blocks additionally includes at least one sugarsource and may include other nutrients such as protein, fat, vitaminsand minerals.

The at least one sugar source delivers additional nutrients to theanimal. Sugar additionally assists in hardening of the block, which isuseful for intake control of the finished products. Examples of suitablesugar sources include sucrose, fructose (e.g., high fructose cornsyrup), glucose, galactose, maltose, lactose, maltose, galactose orcombinations. For instance, the non-reducing sugar sucrose may be apreferred sugar according to certain implementations, while in othersthe short chain reducing sugars of fructose, glucose and/or lactose maybe preferred sources of sugar. Other suitable sugar sources includesugar-containing components, and these may additionally or alternativelyinclude honey, sugarcane, corn syrup, sugar beet, fruit extracts, orcombinations. Alternatively, the feed blocks of the present disclosuremay be free of any of the preceding sugar sources.

The sugar source(s) may be present in a pre-mixture of the concentratedseparator by-product. For instance, the sugar source(s) may account forat least about 2 to 15 wt % of the pre-mixture, prior to dehydration,discussed herein. In the finished feed supplement block, the sugarsource(s) may be present at about 1 wt % to about 30 wt %, about 1 wt %to about 15 wt %, about 1 wt % to about 10 wt %, about 5 wt % to about15 wt %, about 10 wt % to about 20 wt %, about 10 wt % to about 25 wt %or about 10 wt % to about 30 wt %, or up to about 15 wt % on a drymatter basis.

Protein in the feed supplement blocks may be derived from theconcentrated separator by-product as well as additional protein sources,which may include, but are not limited to grain-based by products (e.g.,distillers grains, corn steep liquor, condensed distillers solubles, andcorn gluten feed), alfalfa, wheat midds, corn (e.g., meal) cottonseed(e.g., hulls or meal), soy bean (e.g., flakes, hulls or meal), rape seedmeal, canola meal, sunflower seed meal, palm kernel oil meal, sesame oilmeal, perilla oil meal, dried blood, meat (e.g., meat meal), fish (e.g.,meal or solubles), egg. In addition, non-protein nitrogen sources thatmay be used in the feed supplement blocks may include, but are notlimited to urea, biuret and ammonia.

Protein and non-protein nitrogen sources in the feed supplement blockmay be present at about 10 to 40 wt % on a dry matter basis, or about 20to 30 wt % on a dry matter basis.

Fat in the feed supplement blocks may include fats, greases or oilsderived from animal or plant sources. Examples of suitable fatcomponents include animal fat such as beef tallow, beef stearin, yellowgrease, choice white grease; vegetable oils such as palm stearin,soybean oil, flaxseed oil, sunflower oil, or cottonseed oil;hydrogenated vegetable oils; nut oils; seed oils; fish oils; beef fat;chicken fat, and combinations.

Fat may be present in the feed block at about 2 to 15 wt % or about 2 to10 wt % on a dry matter basis.

Moisture in the feed supplement blocks may be present at about 2 toabout 5 wt % of the block.

Other components in the feed block may include, but are not limited to,vitamins, minerals, pH adjusters, palatants (e.g., sugar alcohol), feednuggets, clay, medicaments, antibiotics and insecticides. Vitamins andminerals may include, but are not limited to, calcium (Ca), phosphorous(P), salt (NaCl), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), iodine (I), iron (Fe),cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), sulfur (S), copper (Cu), selenium (Se),zinc (Zn), vitamins A, D and E. Suitable pH adjusters may adjust the pHof compositions or mixtures to an acidic, a neutral or an alkaline pH.Suitable pH adjusters include but are not limited to sodium hydroxide orother high pH components such as additional concentrated separatorby-product or beet filtrate.

Methods of Producing Low Moisture Feed Blocks

The feed supplement blocks of the present disclosure may be prepared byforming a premixture, adjusting a pH of the premixture, concentrating toa high solids level, blending with additional components to form anadmixture, optionally cooling the admixture, and pouring the admixtureinto tubs where it hardens into a low moisture feed supplement block.The feed supplement blocks differ from poured blocks in that curingagents (e.g., magnesium oxide) and lignin binders are not required forthe feed supplement blocks to harden. Rather, the high solids level ofthe admixture allows the feed block to harden upon cooling to ambienttemperatures and the feed blocks may be free of curing agents and/orlignin binders. The methods described below are intended to berepresentative examples of useful embodiments thereof.

The premixture may be formed by mixing concentrated separator by-productwith one or more sugars. The concentrated separator by-product may serveas the main source of liquid in the premixture. The sugar may beintroduced in granular or liquid form. In some implementations, anon-reducing sugar such as sucrose may be preferred for the premixture.Non-reducing sugars do not undergo a Maillard reaction (e.g.,non-enzymatic browning in the presence of amino acids) or Streckersdegradation (e.g., the conversion of an α-amino acid into an aldehydecontaining the side chain) during subsequent processing steps and mayrequire cooling to a lesser extent compared to the use of reducingsugars. Alternatively, reducing sugars such as fructose, glucose,lactose or combinations, may be used in the premixture. Although thesesugars have the potential to undergo the Maillard reaction or Streckersdegradation, controlling operating parameters of subsequent processingsteps may avoid such reactions. The added sugar may account for about 2wt % to about 15 wt %, or about 7.5 wt %, of the premixture prior todehydration. In addition, the premix may contain a pH adjuster and fat.The premixture may be agitated to increase uniformity of thecomposition.

The premixture may have a pH of about 6.0 to about 8.0 and may beadjusted upward to a pH of about 7.5 to 11.0 to facilitate hardening andsolidification of the block. For instance, the pH may adjusted by addingan alkaline solution to 7.0 to 10.0, 8.0 to 11.0, 7.0 to 9.0, 7.0 to8.0, 8.0 to 9.0, 9.0 to 10.0, 10.0 to 11.0. Sources of alkalinity mayinclude, but are not limited to, sodium hydroxide (NaOH), magnesiumhydroxide (MgOH), calcium oxide (CaO), and sodium hydrogen carbonate(e.g., sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃)) as well as feed components with highalkalinity such as concentrated separator by-product and/or beetfiltrate.

The premixture may be blended, pH adjusted and concentrated to a highsolids content using a vessel such as a batch kettle. Concentration maybe to at least 90 wt % solids, at least 95 wt % solids, and preferablyto about 98 wt % solids. In addition or alternatively, the vessel may bea recirculating vessel that recirculates liquid from the bottom to thetop of the vessel to provide a uniformly heated premixture. Thetemperature of the premixture may be raised up to about 200° F. to about260° F., about 230 to about 240° F., about 230 to 245° F. or about 232°F. These temperatures may be reached using vacuum pressure, such as bysealing the vacuum kettle and subjecting the contents to vacuumconditions. As the vacuum level is increased, the temperature at whichthe premixture boils decreases. In some implementations, a vacuumpressure of about 21 inHg may be preferred. In some implementations,concentrating at a temperature below 240° F. may be preferred, and thistemperature may be relatively low compared to typical cookingtemperatures used in the production of molasses-based feed blocks, whichrequires heating to at least 240° F. or higher.

The high solids premixture may be admixed with other feed blockcomponents such as sources of additional protein, sugar, vitamins,minerals, medicaments and/or insecticides. The added components may bedry components to ensure the level of solids in the admixture remainshigh. For instance, a dry premix containing any or all of thesecomponents may be admixed with the high solids premixture.Alternatively, the admixture may be free of any of the components.

Where the premixture contains fat and/or a pH adjuster, additional fatand/or pH adjusters may optionally be added to the high solids premix.Typically, the pH of the premixture is substantially the same as the pHof the admixture.

The admixture may optionally be cooled prior to pouring the admixtureinto containers. For admixtures containing non-reducing sugars, coolingmay be to 185° F. or below. For admixtures containing reducing sugars,cooling may be to 156° F. or below so as to avoid reduction of thesugars in the Maillard reaction or Streckers degradation. For instance,cooling may be conducted through the use of a cooling belt where theadmixture is deposited on a moving belt while water is sprayed onto oneside of the belt, which enables admixture on an opposite side of thebelt to cool without the addition of moisture. In addition oralternatively, the admixture may be allowed to cool using a jacketedvessel that circulates cold water within the jacket which enables rapidcooling without adding moisture to the admixture.

The admixture may be poured into containers, such as tubs, where theadmixture is allowed to harden. The containers may hold about 50 toabout 250 lbs. of the admixture. Once in the container, the admixturecontinues to cool to ambient temperatures. Typically, the admixture isfree of curing agents and lignin binders present in poured blocks andpressed blocks, respectively, and the admixture does not undergo anexothermic or curing reaction as it hardens. Rather, the high solidscontent and sugar present in the admixture enable the composition toharden into a block form. In addition, the pH of the admixture may beabout 7.0 to 11.0, which enables the admixture to harden efficiently.

The finished feed supplement blocks may have a hardness comparable tomolasses-based products. The level of total sugar using the blend ofconcentrated separator by-product and sugar may be lower than wheneither cane or beet molasses is used as the liquid composition for themanufacturing process. In addition, by using concentrated separatorby-product as a molasses replacement, the level of sugar in the feedsupplement blocks may be controlled, which enables the finished productto have a desired harness.

The methods described herein that use sucrose as a source of sugaradditionally allows the cooling of the feed block to start at a highertemperature, e.g., about 185° F. to 165° F. or about 185° F. to 175° F.,because the majority of the sugars in the product are sucrose and notreducing sugars such as fructose and glucose, thereby avoiding theMaillard reaction and subsequent Streckers degradation reactions thatotherwise cause carbon dioxide formation resulting in foaming and/orexpansion of the finished blocks when they are poured at temperaturesabove 154° F. Alternatively, when the manufacturing process has adequatecapacity to cool the blend prior to packaging, e.g., using an elongatedcooling belt that allows more cooling time of the admixture prior topouring, other sugar sources such as reducing sugars like fructose orglucose can be used in place of sucrose for the process.

While additives such as condensed distillers solubles and corn steepliquor may be added during production of the blocks, such as duringprocessing of the premixture, during heating (e.g., as additional drymatter), or as an additive in the admixture, these additives do notbehave like concentrated separator by-product and are unsuitable for useas the primary liquid component in the production of the blocks.Particularly, these additives may provide excessive amounts of moisture,or alternatively, at low moisture levels, may be so thick as to makemixing and pouring difficult. In addition, these components have arelatively low pH, which results in problems in adjusting the pH up torequired levels for proper hardening.

While the methods disclosed herein have been described and shown withreference to particular operations performed in a particular order, itwill be understood that these operations may be combined, sub-divided,or re-ordered to form equivalent methods without departing from theteachings of the present disclosure. Accordingly, unless specificallyindicated herein, the order and grouping of the operations should not beconstrued as limiting.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description ofexample embodiments, various features are sometimes grouped together ina single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one ormore of the various aspects. These methods of disclosure, however, arenot to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claims requiremore features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than allfeatures of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment, and each embodimentdescribed herein may contain more than one inventive feature.

While the present disclosure has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various other changes in the form and detailsmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of making a feed block, comprising:forming a premixture of concentrated separator by-product and addedsugar; adjusting a pH of the premixture to a first pH with one or morefirst pH adjusters, wherein the first pH is 8.0 to 11.0; concentratingthe premixture to a solids content of at least 90 percent by weight;forming an admixture by combining the concentrated premixture with drycomponents, wherein forming the admixture includes adding one or moresecond pH adjusters such that the admixture exhibits a second pH that isabout the same as the first pH; pouring the admixture into a vessel; andallowing the poured admixture to cool to ambient temperatures therebyhardening into a feed block, wherein the feed block is free of molasses.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the added sugar comprises anon-reducing sugar.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising coolingthe admixture to a temperature of 185° F. or less prior to pouring intothe vessel.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the non-reducing sugarcomprises sucrose.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the added sugarcomprises a reducing sugar.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprisingcooling the admixture to a temperature of 155° F. or less prior topouring into the vessel.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the reducingsugar comprises one or more of fructose, glucose or lactose.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of concentrating the premixturecomprises heating the premixture to a temperature of about 230° F. toabout 245° F.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the concentratedseparator by-product in the feed block accounts for more of the feedblock than any other component.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein theconcentrated separator by-product is present in the feed block at about45 to about 60 wt %.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the feed blockcomprises sugar at about 5 to 30 wt %.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the feed block is free of magnesium oxide.
 13. A method ofmaking a feed block, comprising: forming a premixture of concentratedseparator by-product and added sugar; adjusting a pH of the premixtureto a first pH with one or more first pH adjusters, wherein the first pHis 8.0 to 11.0; concentrating the premixture to a solids content of atleast 90 percent by weight by heating the premixture to a temperature ofabout 230° F. to about 245° F. under vacuum conditions; forming anadmixture by combining the concentrated premixture with dry components,wherein forming the admixture includes adding one or more second pHadjusters such that the admixture exhibits a second pH that is about thesame as the first pH; pouring the admixture into a vessel; and allowingthe poured admixture to cool to ambient temperatures thereby hardeninginto a feed block, wherein the feed block includes at least one of oneor more sugar alcohols, clay, or one or more feed nuggets, and whereinthe concentrated separator by-product in the feed block accounts formore of the feed block than any other component.
 14. The method of claim13, wherein the concentrated separator by-product is present in the feedblock at about 45 to about 60 wt %.
 15. The method of claim 13, whereinthe feed block comprises sugar at about 5 to 30 wt %.
 16. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the feed block is free of magnesium oxide.